Tyler Perry Has Big Plans in Streaming TV

Tyler Perry recently inked a content deal with Viacom, but he has other ideas for his future.

“If you would have asked me this four years ago, I would’ve told you that I wanted to own a cable channel,” he told Cheddar in an interview. “Now I’d have my own streaming service.”

“That is the wave of the future, no matter whether we ignore it or not. That’s the way everything is going.”

The comments from the award-winning actor, writer, and director come at a time when the streaming landscape has become increasingly competitive. Disney said its sports-focused service will launch later this year at a rate of $4.99 a month. Hulu, meantime, recently discounted the cost of its lowest-tier package while industry-leader Netflix has raised its subscription rates several times.

Perry says the sweet spot for streaming is about $5 a month, but he concedes that Netflix has earned the privilege to charge more.

“Five years ago, eight years ago, people were like, ‘Netflix, what?’ Now you realize it’s a major player,” Perry said. “I think that you should be able to pay more for a service that can offer that kind of content, those kinds of shows across the board.”